U.S. billionaires added $845 billion to net worth as pandemic exposed racial inequities

In the United States, the Department of Labor is reporting another 860,000 workers filed for new unemployment benefits last week.  Since the pandemic began, around 60 million jobless claims have been filed -- a new record.

Meanwhile, the total net worth of the nation’s billionaires has soared by nearly $850 billion since mid-March -- a 29% increase.  That’s according to a new study by the Institute for Policy Studies.

This comes as a new poll conducted by NPR and researchers at Harvard finds economic fallout from the pandemic has hit communities of color the hardest.  The study found 72% of Latinx households, 60% of Black households and 55% of Native American households have reported “serious financial problems” this year, with trouble paying for food, housing and debt.